Human trafficking: Pols' new push to strengthen laws

Lawmakers are making a renewed effort to strengthen human trafficking laws, gearing up for a slew of bills in statehouses across the county, hosting a high-profile celebrity speech to draw attention to the issue, and meeting at the White House on Thursday as they seek to do more to crack down on abuse.

As the National Conference of State Legislatures gathers Wednesday in D.C, the selection of human trafficking as a topic for one of the two meetings legislators will have at the White House shows how crucial the once-ignored issue has become to state lawmakers, who have seen a surprisingly sparse number of prosecutions under existing laws. (The other meeting is on the fiscal cliff.)

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Rubio on human trafficking: Awareness is key to prevention

Actress Mira Sorvino, an advocate for victims, is set to deliver a speech on human trafficking at the conference.

While trafficking isn’t a new topic for the states — they’ve passed 168 laws in the past two years — or for the White House, which unveiled a series of executive orders and other measures aimed at curbing the crime in September, those working on the issue say there’s much more to be done to improve the treatment of victims and ensure the perpetrators are prosecuted.

“These cases are extremely difficult, and I’ve learned a lot from advocates, and from working cases through the system, and it’s not about just having the law on the book and having the police make arrests,” Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley told POLITICO, pointing out victims often need extensive rehabilitation, and that arresting a trafficker can combine all the difficulties of sex assault, domestic abuse and organized crime cases.

Coakley played a major role in crafting the law adopted by the Massachusetts legislature last year, and is starting a statewide tour to educate police officers and local prosecutors this week.

“We’ve got a pretty good foundation, but we still need to put on the walls and ceilings,” said Mary Ellison, the policy director for the Polaris Project, an activist group, adding: “We need to actually move into the house and get some prosecutions.”

While details are still being finalized, the visiting legislators from around the country are likely to meet on Thursday with staff from Vice President Joe Biden’s office and from the Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women, according to the NCSL. (Biden sponsored the original Violence Against Women Act in 1994, which established the DOJ office.)